Thermo Fisher Scientific has entered a collaboration with Scinogy, specialists in closed, automated manufacturing systems for cell therapies, to develop and commercialize fit-for-purpose instrumentation and reagent systems aimed at improving productivity and scalability of cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
 
The manual processes commonly used in development and clinical trials are not cost-effective, transferable, or commercially viable. Alternative methods using more integrated systems often lack flexibility and generally suffer from poor capacity utilization. To realize the promise of cell therapy, the industry requires a novel approach. Thermo Fisher’s collaboration with Scinogy will provide closed, modular, automated systems designed to enable scalable, cost-effective cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing.
 
“The cell therapy industry is expanding steadily, and Thermo Fisher Scientific is committed to empowering developers to accelerate the time between R&D to full-scale manufacturing and commercialization,” said Amy Butler, vice president and general manager of cell biology, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The team at Scinogy has an impressive track record of developing manufacturing systems that deliver high-quality, affordable cell and gene therapies, ultimately helping increase access to life-saving therapies around the world.”
 
As an initial result of the collaboration, Thermo Fisher has unveiled the new Gibco CTS Rotea Counterflow Centrifugation System. The Rotea counterflow centrifuge is a highly reproducible, closed cell processing system designed for separation, washing and concentration of both autologous and small-scale allogeneic cell therapy samples.
 
“The Rotea counterflow centrifuge is the first in a family of manufacturing technologies being developed to suit the specific challenges and needs of the cell and gene therapy industry,” said Bryan Poltilove, general manager of cell and gene therapy, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The compact size, process flexibility and single-use kit allow the system to seamlessly scale from research through commercial manufacturing.”